Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Tenth Edition

Organizational Structures

3.0 INTRODUCTION

PMBOK^® Guide, 4th Edition

2.4.2 Organizational Structure

Chapter 9 Human Resource Management

During the past thirty years there has been a so-called hidden revolution in the introduction and development of new organizational structures. Management has come to realize that organizations must be dynamic in nature; that is, they must be capable of rapid restructuring should environmental conditions so dictate. These environmental factors evolved from the increasing competitiveness of the market, changes in technology, and a requirement for better control of resources for multiproduct firms. More than forty years ago, Wallace identified four major factors that caused the onset of the organizational revolution¹:

• The technology revolution (complexity and variety of products, new materials and processes, and the effects of massive research)
• Competition and the profit squeeze (saturated markets, inflation of wage and material costs, and production efficiency)
• The high cost of marketing
• The unpredictability of consumer demands (due to high income, wide range of choices available, and shifting tastes)

Much has been written about how to identify and interpret those signs that indicate that a new organizational form may be necessary. According to ...